SLRhttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/6160/all
enHow to Make Old Photos Look As Good As New with iPhotohttp://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_make_old_photos_look_good_new_iphoto
<!--paging_filter--><h3>Scanned photos are preserved forever, but may need repair work first</h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u325188/2012/08/iphoto_screen.png" width="620" height="404" /></h3><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Use the sliders under the histogram to set the black and white points and maximaze the tonal range.</strong></p><p>Old prints and negatives deteriorate with time, especially if they’re kept in damp conditions. Those boxes of pictures in your attic could be in a worse state than you imagine, and the sooner you get them scanned in as digital images, the better.</p><p>There are many different ways of doing this. You can use a flatbed scanner or a multi-function device to scan in prints, and some scanners come with transparency adaptors for slides and negatives.</p><p>But you can also fix prints to a wall and photograph them with your digital camera, and there are attachments for digital SLRs that let you copy slides clipped into a holder on the front.</p><p>However you digitize your prints, though, it’s likely that you’ll have to carry out some basic repairs to get them up to scratch. If the damage is severe, you might need a program like Photoshop to put it right -- not to mention a good deal of image-editing expertise. Most of the time, though, you’ll find everything you need in iPhoto.</p><h3>Restoring quality</h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u325188/2012/08/screen2_0.png" width="620" height="399" /></h3><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>First, straighten your image and then use the Crop tool to remove unwanted borders.</strong></p><p>It’s rarely possible to get old photos back to the same standards of color and sharpness as an image from a modern digital camera, but you can still restore some of the color, contrast and detail that’s been eroded by the passage of time. When you’re faced with a faded old photo, it might be difficult to know where to start, but there are four basic steps you can take to improve your photos. We’ll refer to them as the four Cs: cropping, colors, contrast and cloning. Let’s look at each one individually.</p><p>Cropping (and straightening) is a good place to start. When images are scanned in, they’re often slightly misaligned – or, if they were taken by an amateur photographer, they may have been shot skewed. And old photos often have borders, which you don’t really want, either because the original print had a border, or because the scanner hasn’t automatically detected the edges. iPhoto can do both jobs, and you’ll find the tools you need in the Quick Fixes tab in Edit mode.</p><h3>There are four steps you can take to improve your photos: cropping, colors, contrast and cloning</h3><p>Fading is probably the most obvious problem, though, and this can affect both the colors and the contrast. The dyes in color prints don’t fade at the same rate, and this is why old prints have a color cast that is sometimes blue, sometimes magenta, sometimes another color -- it depends on the paper and chemicals used to make the print and the storage conditions. You can fix color casts with the Temperature and Tint sliders in the Adjust panel. Technically, these are for correcting white balance in digital images, but you can use them to correct faded photos too.<br /><br />Fading doesn’t just shift the colors -- it reduces the overall contrast too. The darkest parts will often be a wishy-washy grey rather than a dense black, and this makes the picture look flat and dull. By restoring a full contrast range between dense black and brilliant white, you can often restore the vibrancy and depth that’s been lost over the years.<br /><br />The image contrast is something else you can fix in the Adjust panel, but while the Exposure and Contrast sliders might sound like they’re the best tools for the job, the Levels sliders found under the histogram at the top are actually more effective.<br /><br />The other thing to note is that changing the contrast can change the appearance of the colors, and vice versa, so you may need to go back and forth between them once or twice to get the balance just right.<br /><br />Lastly, you may need to do some "cloning" (iPhoto features a Retouch tool rather than a Clone tool, but effectively it’s the same thing). Repairing larger areas of damage might need a program like Photoshop, but iPhoto can easily deal with the usual dust spots, hairs and scratches that can spoil your old but much-loved pictures.</p><h3>What You’ll Need:</h3><p>&gt;&gt; iPhoto '11 (appearance may vary in earlier versions)</p><h3>1. Straighten and Crop</h3><p>The Straighten and Crop tools are both in iPhoto’s Quick Fixes panel, but you need to use them in the right order. If you use the Straighten tool first, you’ll be able to crop the photo more accurately without cutting off any areas you don’t have to. Straighten the image by dragging the slider left or right; use the side of a building or the horizon to gauge when the picture is straight. When the Crop tool is selected, the cropped area is indicated by a rectangle, or "marquee". You can drag the corners to resize and reposition the cropped area at the same time, or drag on the edges to adjust the top, bottom and sides individually. You’ll spot that the Crop tool has a menu with different sizes on it. This is so that you can match the proportions of your cropped picture to common print sizes, or to fit the aspect ratio of your screen. If you don’t have specific proportions in mind, just uncheck the Constrain box.</p><h3>2. Adjust the Levels</h3><p>It’s difficult to judge whether colors need adjusting if the picture is just generally faded. For that reason, it’s often best to fix the contrast first. iPhoto does have an Enhance button on the Quick Fix tab which can do the job for you with moderately faded images, but if they’re particularly bad you’ll get better results doing it yourself. Switch to the Adjust tab and look at the histogram at the top -- you’ll probably find that it doesn’t quite reach either end of the scale. But there are black point and white point sliders directly below, and the usual advice with digital images is to drag the sliders just to the ends of the histogram. This maximizes the tonal range of the picture, so that there’s a range from solid black to brilliant white. Usually, it’s important not to ‘clip’ the ends of the histogram because this will produce filled-in shadows and ‘blown’ highlights. But with pictures shot on film, you may need to clip it a little, especially at the left-hand end in order to get enough contrast in the image and proper blacks in the shadowed areas. Film is more grainy than digital, and if you don’t clip the shadows, they can look "speckly".</p><h3>3. Adjust the Colors</h3><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u325188/2012/08/screen3_0.png" width="620" height="389" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>With badly faded photos, it's best to correct the colors by eye.</strong></p><p>Adjusting the histogram usually makes any color shifts in the picture more obvious, which is a good reason for adjusting the contrast first. One approach to fixing the colors is to use the white balance eyedropper just below the Temperature slider in the Adjust panel to click on an area of the picture that should be a neutral grey tone. This doesn’t always work with old photos, though, because the grain pattern is multicolored, and although you might think you’ve found a grey area, there may be color variations at a microscopic level, which really throw the adjustment out. Instead, you’ll probably need to adjust the Temperature and Tint sliders manually. These mimic the white balance adjustments on digital cameras, but here you’ll need to make the adjustments by eye. You drag the Temperature slider left or right to make it more blue or more yellow, while the Tint slider makes the picture more magenta or more green. Depending on the color cast, you may need to make adjustments to both, and there’s a certain amount of skill involved in getting it right. Adjusting the Temperature and Tint changes the shape of the histogram, so you may need to go back and make minor adjustments to it to get the best shadow and highlight detail in the picture.</p><h3>4. Fix dust and scratches</h3><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u325188/2012/08/screen4.png" width="620" height="385" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Scanned photos often have lots of small dust spots. Fortunately, you can remove them with the Retouch tool.</strong></p><p>You’ll find the Retouch tool back on the Quick Fixes tab, and while it’s not really a serious rival to the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop or Elements, it is simple to use. First, zoom in so that you can get a closer look at any blemishes you’re trying to fix. You can do this by dragging the Zoom slider at the bottom of the iPhoto window or using the 1 key to zoom to 100%, or the 2 key to view it at 200%. iPhoto then displays a Navigator window highlighting the section you’re zoomed in on; drag this around to look at different parts of the picture. The Retouch tool has just a single slider, which controls the size of the brush. The secret is to make this just slightly larger than the blemish you want to fix. All you have to do now is "dab" on a dust spot or a mark, and the Retouch tool uses pixels from the surrounding areas to fill it in. Individual spots disappear as if they’d never existed, but scratches are slightly trickier. You can use the same "dabbing" technique to get rid of them bit by bit, or drag the Retouch tool along them to paint them in with a single stroke, though this can produce a slight blurring effect.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_make_old_photos_look_good_new_iphoto#commentsappleiPhotophotographPhotoshopSLRiPadiPhoneiPodMacHow-TosMon, 27 Aug 2012 16:00:07 +0000Rod Lawton14864 at http://www.maclife.comCanon Powershot G1 X Reviewhttp://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/canon_powershot_g1_x_review
<!--paging_filter--><p>Although it’s “just another” compact camera, the Canon G1 X is more exciting than most because, at 1.5 inches (18.7x14mm), its 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor is only a fraction smaller than the average SLR’s. Also, its pixels are the same size and design as those on the Canon 600D’s sensor. This immediately puts the G1 X ahead of the game and makes it capable of producing high-quality images.<br /><br />The latest generation Digic 5 image processor drives the camera’s performance, while the Canon 4x optical zoom lens (28–112mm equivalent) with image stabilization incorporates a new design using Ultra High Refractive Index Aspherical (UA) elements for superior image quality. The tech is impressive: a 3-inch, 920,000-dot, articulated LCD; built-in flash; optical viewfinder; full manual control as well as automated shooting modes; a great ISO sensitivity range that tops out at ISO 12800; 1080p movie recording at 24fps; and the ability to shoot raw and JPEG files.</p><p><img src="/files/u325188/cannon.jpg" width="620" height="380" /><br /><br />Naturally, the G1 X is a bit larger than the popular $499.99 PowerShot G12, which sits beneath it in Canon’s lineup, but not by as much as you might think. However, it can be squeezed into a coat pocket if the need arises. The G1 X’s stainless steel chassis gives it a robust feel, and one glance at the extensive array of buttons and control dials confirms that this is a camera aimed at serious photographers who need a smaller alternative to an SLR. As these users would expect, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual exposure modes are available, and the exposure mode dial also has automated options for the less experienced user.</p><p>Thanks to the large sensor and Canon’s excellent metering and white balance systems, image quality from the G1 X is high. Plenty of detail is captured in both the raw and JPEG files. Noise is controlled well up to ISO 12800, and dynamic range is excellent up to ISO 3200, beyond which it drops quite dramatically.<br /><br /><strong>The bottom line.</strong> It’s pricey, but the G1 X impresses on many fronts, with excellent handling and superb image quality.</p><fieldset class="fieldgroup group-the-bottom-line"><legend>Review Synopsis</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-product">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Product:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://www.usa.canon.com" target="_blank">PowerShot G1 X</a></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-company">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Company:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
Canon </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-contact">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Contact:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://www.usa.canon.com" target="_blank">www.usa.canon.com</a></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-price">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Price:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
$799 </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-requirements">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Requirements:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Specs: 14.3MP resolution; 28-112mm(35mm equivalent) f/2.8-5.8 lens; supports Raw, JPEG, MOV; SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-positives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Positives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Lots of control and auto options. Excellent image quality. Variable angle LCD usable viewfinder.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-negatives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Negatives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Bulky for a compact camera.</p> </div>
</div>
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</fieldset>
http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/canon_powershot_g1_x_review#commentsReviews14.3MPCanonCanon G1 XG1 Xmemory cardsPower ShotSLRFri, 15 Jun 2012 19:00:21 +0000Angela Nicholson14244 at http://www.maclife.comiPhone SLR Mount Reviewhttp://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/iphone_slr_mount_review
<!--paging_filter--><h3>The results can be cool, but at what cost?</h3><p>People often ask us what the “best” camera is. While you can debate the merits of various pieces of hardware, when it comes down to it, the best camera is the one you have with you when you want to take a photograph. Which, for a lot of people, ends up being an iPhone. The iPhone camera is great for snapshots, but what if you could use all the glass from your SLR to push your iPhone to even greater creative possibilities? For that, you’ll need Turtleback’s iPhone SLR Mount.<br /><br />When we saw the mount featured on the always clever photography site photojojo.com, we knew we had to take it for a spin. We didn’t expect the mount to replicate the quality of our DSLR cameras, but we did hope it would give us another way to use our SLR lenses creatively. Installation is fairly straightforward, although aligning its included focusing screen was a little tricky. Switching lenses as you shoot is also a bit cumbersome, requiring you to take off the lens, remove a lens ring mount, reattach the ring to another lens, and reattach that to the mount. It’s not so bad, except you have to do it all without getting dust on the focusing screen. It takes a few times before you get the hang of it.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/02/reviews/iphoneslr.jpg" width="620" height="154" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The same photo, 3 ways: with the iPhone Lens Mount and Nikkor 14mm f/2.8 lens, iPhone 4, Nikon D200 &amp; Nikkor lens.</strong></p><p>Taking photos with the lens mount wasn’t the most expedient process either. You have to manually focus and adjust aperture settings, which doesn’t always produce the fastest results. But then again, if you’ve got DSLR lenses in the first place, you’re probably at least moderately versed in how to use them. But it’s worth noting that you’ll be shooting manually here. <br /><br />Framing shots, on the other hand, can be particularly challenging. Lacking a mirror to properly orient the image from the lens, everything you see on the iPhone’s screen will be upside down. You can remedy the situation with a free app called Almost DSLR, but it was so buggy and unreliable that it was easier to stick with seeing everything inverted. And since everything is upside down, you’ll have to manually rotate images after the fact.<br /><br />Undaunted by usability quirks, we used the mount with a variety of fixed lenses, which were the least bulky on the already large mount. Our test lenses included a 50mm f/1.8 lens, a wide angle 14mm f/2.8 lens, and an ultra-wide 10.5mm f/2.8 lens fisheye.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/02/reviews/iphoneslr2.jpg" width="400" height="299" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Using a 50mm f/1.8 lens with the iPhone Lens Mount produces depth of field effects that would otherwise be unachievable.</strong></p><p>Unfortunately, the fisheye showed so much of its hood in the iPhone viewfinder that it was ultimately unusable. With the others, focusing was difficult. The fine folks at Photojojo told us that the trick to focusing is to use the iPhone’s screen to focus, and make manual micro-adjustments with our lens. Sometimes, this process worked great. Other times it was nearly impossible to focus at all. And it was moderately cumbersome all of the time.<br /><br />When it comes down to it, we really liked the photos we took with the mount, although dust was a constant problem. Using an f/1.8 lens got us some satisfying bokeh, our wide angle looked especially wide on the iPhone, and the included UV filter produced beautiful blue skies. <br /><strong><br />The bottom line.</strong> It’s an interesting iPhone add-on, but given the usability issues, we’re not entirely sold on the iPhone SLR Mount. It doesn’t really replace an SLR, and it all but obliterates the easy portability and usability of your iPhone, leaving us scratching our heads to find a reason to use it besides “because you can.”</p><fieldset class="fieldgroup group-the-bottom-line"><legend>Review Synopsis</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-product">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Product:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>iPhone SLR Mount</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-company">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Company:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
Turtleback </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-contact">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Contact:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://turtleback.hk" target="_blank">Turtleback.hk</a></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-price">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Price:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
$249 </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-requirements">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Requirements:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>iPhone, Nikon or Canon SLR lenses</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-positives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Positives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Allows you to use your existing SLR lenses with your iPhone.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-negatives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Negatives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Gigantic lens attachment mount. Hard to focus properly. Viewfinder and resulting images are upside down. Takes too much time to switch lenses. Mount accumulates dust inside.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/iphone_slr_mount_review#commentsReviewsHardwaremountmountsPhotoSLRWed, 04 Jan 2012 17:45:24 +0000Ambika Subramony13010 at http://www.maclife.comPhotojojo’s SLR Mount Brings Pro Canon or Nikon Lenses to Your iPhonehttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/photojojo%E2%80%99s_slr_mount_brings_pro_canon_or_nikon_lenses_your_iphone
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/iphone_slr_mount_200px.jpg" alt="The iPhone SLR Mount" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />The iPhone 4 makes a pretty great pocketable camera, but as awesome as it can be, the lens leaves a lot to be desired -- until now. If you’ve got some spare cash and SLR lenses waiting to be put to use, one accessories manufacturer has just the gadget for you.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/" target="_blank">Photojojo is offering The iPhone SLR Mount</a>, which effectively turns your handset into a full-fledged digital SLR capable of using telephoto, wide angle, macro or fixed fifty lenses from either Canon or Nikon, all at your fingertips. The gizmo works with either the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 3G/3GS, with the latest model going for $249 and the elder version for $190.<br /><br />“Ever since the iPhone camera was invented, it's aspired to be what it simply never quite could be: a DSLR,” Photojojo’s product information reads. “Sure, apps have helped your camera phone inch forward with simulated focusing F-X and faux filters.<br /><br />“Faux no more,” the description continues. “The iPhone SLR Mount gives you the real thing. It'll set your phone photos apart from everyone else's on Instagram in an unprecedented way (#nofilters!). This case-adapter combo lets you mount your Canon EOS or Nikon SLR lenses to your iPhone 4 giving your phone powerful depth of field and manual focus.”<br /><br />While you might get a few odd glances as you travel about town with The iPhone SLR Mount in hand, you’ll be getting the last laugh as your photos gain the improvement of powerful depth of field and manual focus. The mount includes an aluminum case, SLR lens adapter and UV filter in the package, but you’ll have to bring your own SLR lenses. Two loopholes even let you attach a thin camera strap to hold the rig like a pro.<br /><br />Speaking of which, you’ll have to decide between Canon EOS or Nikon SLR lenses prior to buying, because The iPhone SLR Mount only works with one or the other -- the Canon model is an EF mount, while the Nikon is an F-mount. Pricing is the same, with the iPhone 4 model for $249 and the iPhone 3G/3GS model for $190, with <a href="http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/" target="_blank">free shipping for orders over $50 from the Photojojo Store</a>.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/photojojo%E2%80%99s_slr_mount_brings_pro_canon_or_nikon_lenses_your_iphone#commentsNewsaccessoriescamera lensCanonDSLRiphone 3gsiphone 4lensesNikonPhotojojoSLRiPhoneThu, 07 Jul 2011 21:37:07 +0000J.R. Bookwalter11609 at http://www.maclife.com"Yo Dawg, I Put An iPhone 4 in Your DSLR"http://www.maclife.com/article/news/yo_dawg_i_put_iphone_4_your_dslr
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u12635/icanon4_large.jpg" width="380" height="214" /></p><p>Xzibit wishes he came up with this one. If you want to make your iPhone 4 work with a tripod, but think those overpriced tripod and case combos are too pass, then how about ripping apart a SLR camera to make a nice case for your iPhone? That seems perfectly normal to us, and that's exactly what one iPhone 4 owner did.</p><p>Vimeo user <a href="http://vimeo.com/14669749" target="_blank">Aniebres</a> used an old Canon SLR body to create a case that fits the iPhone 4, complete with the ability to use the iPhone camera while in the rig.</p><p>You can see the aptly named "iCanon4" in the video below and read more about it's creation on the Aniebres <a href="http://vimeo.com/14669749" target="_blank">Vimeo page</a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><object width="379" height="214" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14669749&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14669749&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0" /></object></p><p>via <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5630611/iphone-4-fitted-inside-a-canon-slr-body" target="_blank">Lifehacker</a><br /><br /></p><p><em>Follow this article's author, <a href="http://twitter.com/coryb" target="_blank">Cory Bohon on Twitter</a></em>.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/yo_dawg_i_put_iphone_4_your_dslr#commentsNewscameraCanoncaseDSLRHilariousiphone 4SLRStandiPhoneTue, 07 Sep 2010 20:50:34 +0000Cory Bohon8171 at http://www.maclife.com